I can't speak to anecdotes about Detroit unions, but by no means is this normal behavior in every industry union. I worked in a UFCW union retail shop for two

I can't speak to anecdotes about Detroit unions, but by no means is this normal behavior in every industry union. I worked in a UFCW union retail shop for two years' time during high school and saw nothing of the sort. To the contrary, everyone worked their arses off and earned minimum wage while performing every single job role in the facility except management and bookkeeping. If no customers were nearby, you were expected to clean, straighten, and develop photos. If business was especially good, you had no time to straighten shelves and got dinged for the store's good fortune by management. Turnover was rampant. You had to pay dues and yet got next to nothing for them. Like all things, your mileage may vary.